The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-01-26
1AE cAlEE o.. alRp PESTS.

4 7
English Sparrows as Destroyers-CoufS
ageous, Hardy and Prolific Creatures.
For downright pluck and perseyer
ance and cleyerness give me the English
sparrow; he's a hard one to beat.
These Were the words of one of those
peripatetic guardians of the lava Cen
tral park policeman. The man had been
a member of the force for several years
and in assiduous pursuit of his calling
had walked many miles through the
byways and highways of the park, dis
eoursing in his own mind upon the
merits and dement's of these little for
eigners.
Now where do you suppose that chap
is going to spend the winter he said to
a young man who had found him stand
ing, legs apart and arms akimbo, leisure
ly observing the toilet of brown backed,
black breasted sparrow of the gentle sex
which perched on a swinging limb of
middle aged elm combing its feathers
with its bill.
Somewhere in the south, reckon, -
said the person addressed.
.'Nawp. . said the philosopher, don't
Don't migrate. eh! Well, in box in
some tree in the park.
:.Nawp, boxes all gone-rotted away
or taken down. I'll tell you where that
peweeIl bunk this winter; he'll stay
right around here in these trees and what
tiine he airf't fyin' about a'luntin' for
something to eat he'll be roosting on a
limb all puffed up as he is now
~ should think it would freeze to
DEATH
so they do sometimes. Many win
ter morning, after an unusually cold
night, I've seen the ground covered with
their dead bodies, frozen hard. Pity
Not much. If we couldn't get rid of
some of 'em by freezin' they'd take the
town in year or two. They're the big
gcst nuisance in New York city,
Yet you admire their pluck.
SO 1 do; SO l do. 1 admire pluck
wherever 1 see it, and you 'vc got bushels
of it in these sparrows. When few of
'em first came over here we fixed up for
'em in style, built boxes for 'em and fed
'em; but they never would use the boxes,
they'd rather look out for themselves,
which they've always done since I've
known anything. about 'em. haven't
the heart to kill one of en-, notwith-
standing they're such a nuisance.
What do they feed on:''
Crumbs mostly. So longs there's
babies in New York so long'll there be
sparrows; somehow they seem to to go
together. You'll see babies come tod
din through the park. or ridin' in their
carriages anuncilin' of crackers and
cakes and tarts and all that and scatter
ing crumbs behind 'em. Sparrows al
ways on the lookout, gather up the
crumbs as soon as they get chance.
Then like most other birds they like
worms and bugs and flies such as they
can find in the grass or weeds or on the
bark of the trees
Determined war has not been waged
against English sparrows in this state,
but in Pennsylvania and perhaps two or
three other state, bounties are paid for
their heads, so much hundred. Boys
made ample pocket change for IL time by
the use of rubber slings and bowguns,
but boylikc they soon grew tired of the
sport of wholesale murder of the little
birds, and the sParrows, left to them
selves, continued to increase with re-
markable rapidity. Statistics on this
point arc intresting. The newly organ
lied division of economic ornithology of
the department of agriculture Is prepar-
ing series of bulletins upon the rela-
tions of several common species of birds
of this country to agriculture. Among
the bird pestn which threaten destruction
to valuable branches of farming DIR.
Merriam, the head of the division, places
the English sparrow as chief. This little
creature has 80 multiplied and developed
among its new surroundings as to have
become vastly greater sconrgc than the
caterpillars and worms it was expected
to destroy. Its present rate of increase
is enormous, and the new territory which
it invades is estimated at more than 13O.-
oG0 square miles annually. It is essen
tally town bird, but it takes long vaca-
tions in the fruit growing seasons and
''wreaks its fastidious appetite" upon
the largest and juiciest of grapes and the
daintiest of tree fruits, in which work
of destruction its aggregate of damages
is almost incompntable.-New York
Tribune.
Tho wrcstIcrs of Japan.
The average Japanese man will weigh